Housing Shortage Is Biggest Worry For Zurich Residents

For more than 20 years, the topic of“transport” was always at the top of the worry barometer. Even in the most recent survey in 2023, the lack of cycle paths and cancelled parking spaces still came in first place, on a par with housing.

Now, the lack of housing and the sometimes horrendous rents are clearly the biggest concerns of the people of Zurich. Transport is now in second place, followed by the cost of living.

+ Zurich: Welcome to the world capital of housing shortages!

Two-thirds of respondents are dissatisfied with the housing on offer (rating 1 or 2). Only 6% are satisfied (rating 5 or 6). In addition, 83% of residents believe that the city is doing“far too little” or“too little” to promote the construction of affordable, non-profit housing.

The city has been conducting the population survey since 1999, usually every two years. This year, around 5,100 people took part.

+ Housing shortages – what works and what doesn't

Adapted from German by AI/ts

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at ...

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo certified by the Journalism Trust Initiati

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at ....